Research in fish and wildlife health and disease, geomicrobiology, ecosystem function, climate change, water quality for drinking and in recreation, bioremediation, nanotechnology, energy and geographic patterns of microbial distribution.

An interdisciplinary organization advancing the use of science in natural resource decision making. SDC focuses on research and applications in three science areas: decision science (adaptive management and structured decision making), ecosystem services, and resilience/sustainability.

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Science Feature: Releasing the Climate Squeeze on Frogs and Salamanders of the American West

Photo: A Cascades frog peeks out of the water in Olympic National Park.. Credit: Maureen Ryan, University of Washington.

Frogs and salamanders in the mountains of the American West are in a bind — predatory trout, introduced for fishing, eat their young in many larger lakes and ponds while climate change threatens to dry up the small, shallow wetlands on which they now disproportionately rely.More...

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The USGS Ecosystem Mission Area serves our Department of the Interior partners and other resource managers by conducting research and monitoring to understand freshwater, terrestrial and marine ecosystems and the fish and wildlife within them. More...